Beacons Of Ancestorship

Spin (p.98) - "BEACONS OF ANCESTORSHIP restlessly shifts from frenetic, bottom-heavy fuzz-rock to snoozy Weather Channel interludes to snarling, techno-tinged world music." Alternative Press (p.131) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "BEACONS OF ANCESTORSHIP's killer first track is an eight-minute, sour mash of bass-heavy synthesizer funk..." Down Beat (p.48) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "[I]t's a big bold statement that trades the ensemble's signature guitar/vibes/snare sound for a swan dive into the synth end of the swimming pool." Record Collector (magazine) (p.98) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "Tracks change direction fluidly and often incorporate unexpected sonic textures....A vivid, intelligent album by a singular band." Signal To Noise (pp.66-67) - "BEACONS OF ANCESTORSHIP is a mature effort, mindful of the group's legacy while simultaneously pushing at their musical boundaries..."

Returning after a five-year gap (which, granted, included a box set and a collaborative record with Bonnie "Prince" Billy), Tortoise confronted a pair of age-old musical questions: does anyone really care about an experimental rock group after 15 years, and does said group actually have anything to say after that length of time? After all, the sound of rock's future circa 1994-1996 was beginning to sound tired by the time of 2004's It's All Around You, and the sense was growing that Tortoise should call it quits and begin accumulating enough years of inactivity to eventually be rediscovered, remastered, and reunited. Beacons of Ancestorship neatly squashes all those questions and assumptions, revealing a band that is just as fascinated with sound, just as intrigued by its myriad possibilities, and just as unerring in presenting those ideas in the form of entertaining instrumental music as when it debuted in 1993. The time signatures are constantly shifting, the lights of vitality and inventiveness Tortoise displayed 12 years earlier are completely undimmed, and the reference points for their music are constantly expanding (on tap here, among the dub and Krautrock and minimalism and jazz, is surprisingly abrasive punk for "Yinxianghechengqi"). The opener is eight minutes of bliss, wheeling and turning every few minutes, eventually leading to a great full-band jam that looks back to an earlier age of Chicago post-rock with a closing that's strikingly reminiscent of early Trans Am. The spaghetti Western impressionism of "The Fall of Seven Diamonds Plus One" would be perfect for their excellent TNT LP, and the group gets positively off the wall at the end, with a pair of songs ("Monument Six One Thousand" and "Charteroak Foundation") that pit guitar lines over drums-and-bass tracks that don't sound as if they were recorded for the same selection. It can be incredibly difficult for an experimental group to continue experimenting for years on end without getting stale, but Tortoise achieve that balance effortlessly. ~ John Bush

シカゴ音響派の重鎮、5匹の天才亀さんが5年ぶりにニュー・アルバムを発表。さまざまな音楽要素が錯綜しながら形を変えていくプログレッシヴな長尺ナンバーに、ブリッブリのシンセが音圧高めで迫りくるヘンテコ・サンバ、バストロが再結成したのかと耳を疑うほどにゴリッとしたハードコア・チューンなどが神業的なプレイで展開されていく。バンドの飽くなきチャレンジ精神が大爆発した、恐るべき傑作の誕生だ!
bounce (C)大久保洋二

気がつけば実に５年ぶりの新作。例えばバトルズのように、彼らの影響を感じさせる新世代のバンドが注目を集める中で、本作は〈オリジナルの帰還〉というべき静かなインパクトが漲っている。ダブステップを思わせるベースが登場するあたり、５年の月日を感じさせるが、意表を突いたプログレッシヴな展開、そして、翳りを帯びた叙情性はトータス以外の何者でもない。いつの間にかポスト・ロックの代名詞となった変拍子をムダに使うこともなく、精緻にデザインされたサウンドと鍛え抜かれたプレイで、トータスは我が道を歩み続けるのみ。 （村尾泰郎）
intoxicate (C)村尾泰郎